Gran Torino

I went to see Gran Torino last week. It isn't a fun or happy movie, but it was very good. I am a little surprised that it didn't get some Oscar nominations.

The movie follows Walt, a really grumpy guy. His wife had recently died and he did not have a close relationship with his children. They didn't seem to like him much, and his grandchildren were no better. His granddaughter was sending text messages during her grandmother's funeral and her parents didn't seem that upset about it. Then a little later she started bugging Walt about what he was going to do with his car, a 1972 Ford Gran Torino after he died. She made it clear that she wanted it, though Walt didn't seem to like that idea.

Walt had fought in the Korean War and worked at the Ford plant until he retired. Walt had a lot of opinions that he wasn't shy about sharing, and that included his opinions on his new neighbors, an Asian family. Walt said horrible things about other races all the time and he didn't care who he offended. He ended up starting to bond to the family next door - mainly Sue and her brother Thao - after he stopped some gang members one night. Walt was only concerned because they dared to get on his lawn, but that made him a hero in the neighborhood. He slowly got to know Sue and Thao, learning that they were decent and had potential. Thao wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to do, but he wanted to avoid the gangs. Walt realized that the gang wasn't going to leave Thao alone and set out to deal with the situation.

The movie was mostly focused on Walt and he did change a bit over the course of the movie. He was really, really grumpy and set in his ways, but he wasn't a bad guy. He was just the ultimate grumpy old man who scared children and was very protective of his yard. His children treated him horribly and tended to only call or come around if they wanted something. He did say a lot of hateful things, but he still somehow managed to be a mostly likable character. There was some humor in a few scenes, especially when Walt was with his barber, though the humor could offend some people. There was violence in some scenes, though the movie wasn't overly violent. I didn't think there was a lot of mystery or suspense, though I wouldn't say it was a predictable movie either. I had thought that something would happen that ultimately did, though not at all in the way I expected.

The movie was very well done and deserves to be seen. Fans of Clint Eastwood will probably enjoy it.

I did post a longer review at Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Gran Torino

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